Spread matrix with statistics

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods and user interfaces are provided for displaying spread product market data and statistics. Market data may be arranged in a matrix and statistical information is inserted in the matrix in available space. In some cases, a computer system may receive market data for a plurality of spread products, receive and/or compute statistical information for the plurality of spread products, and generate a user interface screen that includes the market data for the plurality of spread products and the statistical information associated with the plurality of spread products, where the market data and the statistical information are arranged in a matrix.

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/307,169 filed Jun. 17, 2014 and claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/835,928, filed Jun. 17, 2013,the entire disclosure of the applications are hereby incorporated byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to systems, methods and user interfacesthat are utilized in connection with the trading of financialinstruments. More particularly, embodiments of the invention provide aspread matrix user interface that includes statistical information.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

In many cases, traders of financial instruments may use graphical userinterface systems to view market data details such as prices and toenter orders. Matrixes may be used to display information regardingspread products, such as vertical spreads, horizontal spreads (e.g.calendar spreads), debit spreads, credit spreads, diagonal spreads andthe like. For example, for calendar spreads, spread matrixes may bedesigned to be able to efficiently show all the period spreads for aparticular product in a space efficient way and allow trading of thosespreads. An illustrative configuration may allow a conventional spreadmatrix to display the spreads for one product, where the periods may bedisplayed along the top of the screen with a diagonal list of periodsrunning across the middle of the grid. This illustrative configurationmay show the bids and the offers for all the combinations of periods andmay allow traders to submit orders.

Traders of spreads and other financial instruments may often beinterested in more information than is typically included in aconventional spread matrix. While traders may desire additionalinformation, they may also want the information presented in a conciseformat that they can quickly review and understand. Therefore, there isa need in the art for systems, methods and user interfaces that providemore information to traders in a concise manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The systems and methods discussed herein overcome at least some of theproblems and limitations of the prior art user interfaces that includestatistical information in spread matrixes. In various embodiments, thepresent invention can be partially or wholly implemented on acomputer-readable medium, for example, by storing computer-executableinstructions or modules, or by utilizing computer-readable datastructures. Of course, the methods and systems disclosed herein may alsoinclude other additional elements, steps, computer-executableinstructions, or computer-readable data structures.

In some cases, a computer-readable medium may containcomputer-executable instructions for causing a computer device toperform a method having steps including receiving market data for aplurality of spread products and receiving statistical information forthe plurality of spread products. The computer device may further becaused to generate a user interface screen that includes the market datafor the plurality of spread products and the statistical informationarranged in a matrix.

An illustrative system may include a user interface device and acomputer system communicatively coupled to the user interface device viaa network. In some cases, the computing system may include one or moreprocessing devices communicatively coupled to a non-transitory memorydevice. The non-transitory memory device may store instructions that,when executed by the one or more processing devices, may cause thecomputing system to receive market data for a plurality of spreadproducts, receive statistical information for the plurality of spreadproducts, and generate a user interface screen that includes the marketdata for the plurality of spread products and the statisticalinformation arranged in a matrix.

The details of these and other embodiments of the present invention areset forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Otherfeatures and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thedescription and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may take physical form in certain parts and steps,embodiments of which will be described in detail in the followingdescription and illustrated in the accompanying drawings that form apart hereof, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a computer network system that may be used to implementaspects of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary user interface that includes a spreadmatrix with statistical information, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary method using a spread matrix withstatistical information, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention are preferably implemented withcomputer devices and computer networks that allow users to exchangetrading information. An exemplary trading network environment forimplementing trading systems and methods is shown in FIG. 1.

Exemplary Operating Environment

Aspects of at least some embodiments can be implemented with computersystems and computer networks that allow users to communicate tradinginformation. An exemplary trading network environment for implementingtrading systems and methods according to at least some embodiments isshown in FIG. 1. The implemented trading systems and methods can includesystems and methods, such as are described herein, that facilitatetrading and other activities associated with financial products based oncurrency pairs.

Computer system 100 can be operated by a financial product exchange andconfigured to perform operations of the exchange for, e.g., trading andotherwise processing various financial products. Financial products ofthe exchange may include, without limitation, futures contracts, optionson futures contracts (“futures contract options”), and other types ofderivative contracts. Financial products traded or otherwise processedby the exchange may also include over-the-counter (OTC) products such asOTC forwards, OTC options, etc.

Computer system 100 receives orders for financial products, matchesorders to execute trades, transmits market data related to orders andtrades to users, and performs other operations associated with afinancial product exchange. Exchange computer system 100 may beimplemented with one or more mainframe, desktop or other computers. Inone embodiment, a computer device uses one or more 64-bit processors. Auser database 102 includes information identifying traders and otherusers of exchange computer system 100. Data may include user names andpasswords. An account data module 104 may process account informationthat may be used during trades. A match engine module 106 is included tomatch prices and other parameters of bid and offer orders. Match enginemodule 106 may be implemented with software that executes one or morealgorithms for matching bids and offers.

A trade database 108 may be included to store information identifyingtrades and descriptions of trades. In particular, a trade database maystore information identifying the time that a trade took place and thecontract price. An order book module 110 may be included to store pricesand other data for bid and offer orders, and/or to compute (or otherwisedetermine) current bid and offer prices. A market data module 112 may beincluded to collect market data, e.g., data regarding current bids andoffers for futures contracts, futures contract options and otherderivative products. Module 112 may also prepare the collected marketdata for transmission to users. A risk management module 134 may beincluded to compute and determine a user's risk utilization in relationto the user's defined risk thresholds. An order processor module 136 maybe included to decompose delta based and bulk order types for furtherprocessing by order book module 110 and match engine module 106.

A clearinghouse module 140 may be included as part of exchange computersystem 100 and configured to carry out clearinghouse operations. Module140 may receive data from and/or transmit data to trade database 108and/or other modules of computer system 100 regarding trades of futurescontracts, futures contracts options, OTC options and contracts, andother financial products. Clearinghouse module 140 may facilitate thefinancial product exchange acting as one of the parties to every tradedcontract or other product. For example, computer system 100 may match anoffer by party A to sell a financial product with a bid by party B topurchase a like financial product. Module 140 may then create afinancial product between party A and the exchange and an offsettingsecond financial product between the exchange and party B. As anotherexample, module 140 may maintain margin data with regard to clearingmembers and/or trading customers. As part of such margin-relatedoperations, module 140 may store and maintain data regarding the valuesof various contracts and other instruments, determine mark-to-market andfinal settlement amounts, confirm receipt and/or payment of amounts duefrom margin accounts, confirm satisfaction of final settlementobligations (physical or cash), etc. As discussed in further detailbelow, module 140 may determine values for performance bonds associatedwith trading in products based on various types of currency pairs.

Each of modules 102 through 140 could be separate software componentsexecuting within a single computer, separate hardware components (e.g.,dedicated hardware devices) in a single computer, separate computers ina networked computer system, or any combination thereof (e.g., differentcomputers in a networked system may execute software modulescorresponding more than one of modules 102-140).

Computer device 114 is shown directly connected to exchange computersystem 100. Exchange computer system 100 and computer device 114 may beconnected via a T1 line, a common local area network (LAN) or othermechanism for connecting computer devices. Computer device 114 is shownconnected to a radio 132. The user of radio 132 may be a trader orexchange employee. The radio user may transmit orders or otherinformation to a user of computer device 114. The user of computerdevice 114 may then transmit the trade or other information to exchangecomputer system 100.

Computer devices 116 and 118 are coupled to a LAN 124. LAN 124 mayimplement one or more of the well-known LAN topologies and may use avariety of different protocols, such as Ethernet. Computers 116 and 118may communicate with each other and other computers and devicesconnected to LAN 124. Computers and other devices may be connected toLAN 124 via twisted pair wires, coaxial cable, fiber optics, radio linksor other media.

A wireless personal digital assistant device (PDA) 122 may communicatewith LAN 124 or the Internet 126 via radio waves. PDA 122 may alsocommunicate with exchange computer system 100 via a conventionalwireless hub 128. As used herein, a PDA includes mobile telephones andother wireless devices that communicate with a network via radio waves.

FIG. 1 also shows LAN 124 connected to the Internet 126. LAN 124 mayinclude a router to connect LAN 124 to the Internet 126. Computer device120 is shown connected directly to the Internet 126. The connection maybe via a modem, DSL line, satellite dish or any other device forconnecting a computer device to the Internet. Computers 116, 118 and 120may communicate with each other via the Internet 126 and/or LAN 124.

One or more market makers 130 may maintain a market by providingconstant bid and offer prices for a derivative or security to exchangecomputer system 100. Exchange computer system 100 may also include tradeengine 138. Trade engine 138 may, e.g., receive incoming communicationsfrom various channel partners and route those communications to one ormore other modules of exchange computer system 100.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous additionalcomputers and systems may be coupled to exchange computer system 100.Such computers and systems may include, without limitation, additionalclearing systems (e.g., computer systems of clearing member firms),regulatory systems and fee systems.

The operations of computer devices and systems shown in FIG. 1 may becontrolled by computer-executable instructions stored on non-transitorycomputer-readable media. For example, computer device 116 may includecomputer-executable instructions for receiving market data from exchangecomputer system 100 and displaying that information to a user. Asanother example, clearinghouse module 140 and/or other modules ofexchange computer system 100 may include computer-executableinstructions for performing operations associated with determiningperformance bond contributions associated with holdings in products thatare based on various types of currency pairs.

Of course, numerous additional servers, computers, handheld devices,personal digital assistants, telephones and other devices may also beconnected to exchange computer system 100. Moreover, one skilled in theart will appreciate that the topology shown in FIG. 1 is merely anexample and that the components shown in FIG. 1 may be connected bynumerous alternative topologies.

Exemplary Embodiments

In some cases, the exchange computing system 100 may be configured tocreate and/or price an implied volatility derivative product based on animplied volatility of an underlying financial product. In at least someembodiments, the exchange computer system 100 (or “system 100”)receives, stores, generates and/or otherwise and processes data. Inaccordance with various aspects of the invention, the exchange computingsystem 100 may obtain pricing information corresponding to theunderlying financial product from a financial market. This may promise amore straight-forward way for investors to take a position based onimplied volatility of a financial product.

In some cases, spread matrix views may be provided in a tradingapplication. These spread matrixes may be designed to show possibleperiod spreads available for a particular product in a space efficientway and/or to allow trading of those spreads. These spread matrices maybe used for one or more different spread products. Some futures tradersmay trade period spread contracts (e.g., horizontal spreads, calendarspreads, etc.) more than the outright contracts. An illustrative“classic” spread matrix may display the spreads available for oneproduct and may have the associated periods along the top of the matrixscreen with a diagonal list of periods running across the middle of thematrix grid. Additionally, this illustrative classic spread matrix mayshow the bids and/or the offers for all the combination of periods. Assuch, many futures traders in the market rely on these spread matrixviews when performing much of their trading activities. Because of this,a spread matrix that may be configurable to allow a trader to customizethe spread matrix view and/or include other desirable information may behighly desirable.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary user interface that includes a spreadmatrix 200 with statistical information, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. The spread matrix 200 may used for a singlefinancial product. In some cases, the spread matrix 200 may be used formore than one financial product. The spread matrix 200 may be designedto provide information about one or more spread products by displayinginformation in one or more sections of the spread matrix 200. Forexample, the spread matrix 200 may include an outright positioninformation section 210, a spread information section 220, and/or astatistical information section 230. In some cases, the outrightposition information section 210, the spread information section 220and/or the statistical information section 230 may be separated visuallyusing one or more visual methods, such as by using a line delimiter 215and/or a line of period labels 225. In the illustrative example, theoutright position information section 210 may be separated from thespread information section 220 using the line delimiter 215. This linedelimiter 215 may distinguished from other lines in the matrix by usinga different line weight, line type (e.g., dashed, double, etc.) and/orline color (e.g., black, blue, red, green, etc.). Similarly, the spreadinformation section 220 may be separated from the statisticalinformation section using the line of period labels 225.

In some cases, the outright position information section 210 may be arow in the matrix that lists bid information (e.g., bid informationsection 260) and offer information (e.g., offer information section 270)for each time period associated with the outright position. For example,cell 212 may show that for November 13, the best bid may be 94.46 with aquantity of 7 and the best offer may be 94.49 with a quantity of 10. Insome cases, each outright position may be arranged in cells, such as thecell 212 having one or more sub-cells that may include the bid and/oroffer information. In the illustrative example, each of the bid price,the bid quantity, the offer price, and the offer quantity may be foundin different sub-cells of the cell 212. In some cases, a hit icon 280and a lift icon 290 may be used to enter orders by a user accessing auser interface screen to view the spread matrix 200. The hit icon 280and the lift icon 290 may be used to enter orders in a conventionalmanner. In some cases, trading can be done through the hit/lift buttonsand/or by using a double click of a user interface device (e.g., amouse, a touch screen, etc.). As such, trading may be accomplished in asimilar manner to trades initiated using a trading application.

The spread matrix 200 may include a time period column 240 associatedwith time periods that may be chosen when defining spreads and a timeperiod row 250 that may be used to identify time periods associated withthe outright positions. In some cases, the line of period labels 225 maybe arranged diagonally in the spread matrix 200 corresponding to anintersection of same dates in the time period column 240 and the timeperiod row 250. In some cases, the time period column 240 and line ofperiod labels 225 may be used with time periods identified in the timeperiod row 250 to identify time periods of one or more spreads. Bid andoffer information for a particular spread product may be found by theintersection of a row and column of the time periods included in thetime period column 240 and the time period row 250.

The statistical information section 230 of the spread matrix 200 mayinclude statistical information and be located below the line of periodlabels 225. The statistical information may include any informationrelevant to traders and may be provided by an exchange or other entity.In some cases, the statistical information may be determined usingmarket data obtained from an exchange or other entity. Illustrativestatistical information may include a last trade price, high tradeinformation, low trade information, an open price, a close price, asettlement amount, estimated volume information, volume information,open interest information, and/or cleared volume information. In somecases, the statistical information may include a skew, a standarddeviation, a mean, a premium, implied volatility information and/orother computed information such as “Greek” statistics (e.g., a delta, agamma, a vega, a theta), and the like. In some cases, the type ofstatistical information may be period and/or product specific. In someembodiments users may assign ranks and/or values to types of statisticalinformation that is available. The statistical information may beselected based on the space available on a user interface and/or therankings.

In some cases, the spread cell 222, 224 may include one or moresub-cells. In the illustrative example, the spread cells 222, 224 mayinclude bid price and quantity information and offer price and quantityinformation. Each spread cell 222, 224 may be referenced using theperiod column 240, the period row 250, and/or the period labels 225. Thespread cells 222, 224 may also include a hit icon 280 and a lift icon290 positioned near the prices. For example, a trade may be made atselected prices by clicking on the hit icon 280 or the lift icon 290and/or by double clicking on the grid. In some cases, a context menu maybe associated with the spread cell 222, 224 where a selection may allowa user to navigate to an associated outright product cell and/or to anassociated statistics cell 222, 234.

In the illustrative spread matrix, the statistical information may bedisplayed in a statistics cell 232. The statistics cell may beconfigured to display statistical information about the spreads in anassociated spread cell 222. For example, statistics corresponding to aspread associated with a the June 13 and November 13 time periods (e.g.,the spread cell 222) may be associated with statistics displayed in thestatistics cell 234. The statistics displayed in the statistics cellsmay be configured globally for all the cells in the statisticalinformation section 230 or may be configured individually for eachspread. In some cases, the statistics cells 232, 234 may be configuredto display no statistics, or one or more statistics. For example, thestatistics cells 232, 234 have been configured to display 4 statisticsin different sub-cells of the statistics cells 232, 234. In analternative embodiment, statistical information may be displayed when auser uses a pointing device, such as a mouse, to hover over a tradingblock. In another alternative, some statistical information is displayedas show in FIG. 2 and additional statistical information may displayedwhen a user uses a pointing device to hover over cell, such as theoutright cell 212, the spread cell 222 and/or the statistics cell 232,234. In some cases, an association between a statistics cell 232 and theassociated spread cell 222 via a tooltip that may appear when a pointingdevice is hovered over the statistics cell 232. In some cases, a contextmenu may be associated with the statistics cells, where an option (e.g.,“go to prices”) may be available to navigate a user from the statisticscell 232 to the associated product cell (e.g., the spread cell 232). Insome cases, the context menu may include an option to navigate to anassociated outright cell (e.g., outright cell 212).

In some cases, the statistics information may include one or moredifferent features for use in identifying a force being experienced by aparticular strategy (e.g., a positive sign, a negative sign) and/or foridentifying a movement in a particular statistic (e.g., an up arrow, adown arrow). Additionally, other visual elements may be used tohighlight these features, such as by assigning a first color (e.g.,green) to identify an upward movement and/or positive force and byassigning a second color (e.g., red) to identify a downward movement ornegative force.

The user interface shown in FIG. 2 may also include dynamic features.For example, viewable product periods may be automatically expanded orcollapsed based on the statistics. In one implementation viewableperiods may be dynamically added or removed based on trading activity orvolume in a given deferred contract. In some cases, the spread matrix200 may display a context menu (e.g., “Go to Statistics”) when a userpointing device (e.g., a mouse, a finger, a stylus, etc.) is hoveredover a cell in one or more of the outright position information section210 or the spread information section 220. This context menu selectionmay allow a user to navigate from the outright cell 212 or a spread cell222, 224 to a statistic cell associated with that particular spreadproduct or outright product.

In some cases, the spread matrix 200 may be available for use with anycontract that has configured period spreads in an over-the-countermarket environment or other trading vehicle (e.g., Globex). The spreadmatrix may be configured for use with spreads associated with a singlecommodity. In some cases, the spread matrix 200 may be created based onexisting spread products provided by a financial entity. In other cases,the spread matrix may be created based on a newly identified spreadproduct.

In some cases, a spread matrix 200 including statistical information maybe configured by selecting a menu item (e.g., via a drop-down menu) orusing an icon. In some cases, the icon may be unique to the spreadmatrix having statistics so that this functionality may be identifiablefrom other spread matrix views. Once selected, a configuration screenmay show selections for customizing the spread matrix 200, such as for aparticular spread product, trading strategy and/or trader preference.

In some cases, a configuration screen and/or window may be provided forediting one or more of a product type, a period, outright information,spread statistics, and period headers. For example, a configurationwindow may include a product selection field, in which a user may selecta spread product to be displayed on the spread matrix 200. This fieldmay include one or more methods of selecting a spread product, includinga drop-down menu, a list, a user-entry field, and the like. In somecases, the product selection field may be pre-filled, such as when avalue was passed into the configuration field from a differentapplication.

Period information may be selectable by a user as individual periods,such as by using a list. In some cases, the periods may be selectedconsecutively, but this is not necessary. In some cases, the spreadmatrix 200 may limit a number of time periods to display, such as byusing a pre-defined maximum number of periods (e.g., 6, 8, 9, 10, etc.).In some cases, the maximum number of periods may be a system setting.For example, the system setting may correspond to a maximum number offields capable of fitting within a window or on a user interface screen.

The outright position information section 210 may be customizable byallowing a user to selectively hide or show the outright positioninformation section 210 within the spread matrix 200. Further, the hiticon 280 and/or the lift icon 290 within a particular cell may beselectively hidden or shown. In some cases, information (e.g.,statistical information) associated with the outright product may bedisplayed below the outright bid and offer information. This informationmay include quantity information and/or statistical information. In somecases, the statistical information may apply to a particular period, asopposed to price. As such, the user interface and/or a configurationtool may be configured to merge, or otherwise adjust an appearance ofthe cells in the spread matrix grid. In some cases, the spread matrix200 may be configurable to display the grid as a square, a rectangle, orother desired shape.

The spread statistical information section 230 may be configured to showa configurable number of statistics within a cell, such as by displayingany selected statistics within sub-cells of the configured statisticscell. For example, the statistics cells 232, 234 have been configured todisplay 4 different statistics. In some cases, a minimum number ofstatistics (e.g., 0, 1, etc.) and/or a maximum number of statistics(e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) may be defined. In some cases, each statisticscell may be configured individually or may be configured collectively asa statistical information section 230. In some cases, the statisticsavailable for use in the statistics cells may be limited to thoseapplicable to a particular spread product. In some cases, the periodcolumn 240 and/or the period row 250 may be selectively hidden ordisplayed. Further, a user may be allowed to freeze the period headers,e.g., the period column 240 and/or the period row 250 such that thelisted periods within the period headers remain visible on a userinterface device.

In some embodiments the elements that make up the user interface shownin FIG. 2 are compiled at an exchange or other entity that processesorders and are distributed to traders or others in a form intended to beused to generate the user interface. Traders may receive the distributeddata and display the user interface on a desktop computer, tabletcomputer, mobile terminal or some other computer device. In otherembodiments, a trader may use a desktop computer, tablet computer,mobile terminal or some other computer device to compile all of theinformation and generate the user interface. In this embodiment anexchange or other entity may generate and distribute all of the data,but not distribute the data in a form in a form intended to be displayedwith a user interface like the one shown in FIG. 2. The trader'scomputer device is programmed to generate the user interface.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary method using a spread matrix 200 withstatistical information, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. At 320, a computer device, such as the computer device 118 ofFIG. 1, may process instructions that cause the computer device 118 toreceive market data for a plurality of spread product. For example, thecomputing device may receive market information associated with ahorizontal spread (e.g., a calendar spread) associated with two or moreperiods of an underlying outright product. This market information maybe received via a wired or wireless network from a financial market, theexchange computer system and the like. In doing so, market informationassociated with the outright product may be received, as well. In somecases, the computing device may receive market information associatedwith one or more different spread products, and the associated outrightproduct, such as a vertical spread product, a debit spread product, acredit spread product, a diagonal spread product and the like.

At 320, the computer device 118 may receive statistical information forthe plurality of spread products, such as from the exchange computersystem 100. In some cases, the computer device 118 may be configured tocalculate one or more statistics of the statistical information based onthe market data and/or other statistical information received from theexchange computer system. In other cases, the exchange computer system100 may be configured to calculate one or more statistics of thestatistical information based on market data associated with the spreadproducts and/or the outright positions underlying the spread products.

At 330, the computer device 118 may generate a user interface screenthat includes the market data for the plurality of spread products andthe statistical information arranged in a matrix. For example, thecomputer device 118 may generate a rectangular matrix for presenting bidprices and offer prices associated with one or more spread products, andassociated statistical information, to a user when displayed on a userdisplay device. In some cases, the user display device may be local tothe computing device 118 or may be located remotely and communicate tothe computing device 118 via one or more wired or wireless networks. Insome cases, the spread matrix may be generated having two or moresections for displaying different information about the spread products.For example, the spread matrix 200 may be generated having the outrightposition information section 210, the spread information section 220,and/or the statistical information section 230. The spread matrix mayfurther be generated to selectively display the outright positioninformation section 210, so that a user may hide the outright positioninformation section 210 from view. The computer device 118 may presentan option, such as via a configuration window, or other context menu, toallow a user to select which spread products to show in the spreadinformation section 220 and/or which statistical information to show inthe statistical information section.

Further, in some cases, a cell (e.g., the statistical information cell232) containing statistical information corresponding to a spreadproduct may be linked to a cell (e.g., the spread information cell 222)showing information about the spread product. For example, when a useruses a pointing device (e.g., a mouse, a touch screen, a stylus, etc.)to hover over a spread information cell, statistical information may beshown. In some cases, when a user hovers over a statistical informationcell, spread information and/or additional statistical information maybe shown. In some cases, a user may select a cell (e.g., a right click)to display a menu that may include options for configuring informationto be displayed in the cell and/or links for navigating to associatedcells. For example, a menu generated by right clicking on thestatistical information cell 234 may include options for modifying whichstatistical information is shown in the cell and/or may include links toallow a user to navigate directly to the associated spread informationcell (e.g., cell 224) and/or to associated outright positions, which maybe helpful in navigating larger spread matrixes and/or in navigatingspread matrixes on smaller user display devices (e.g., a handhelddevice, a tablet computer, etc.). Similarly, the a context menuassociated with a spread information cell may include options forinitiating a trade, links to an associated statistical information celland/or links to associated outright position cells.

The method 300 may include generating a configuration interface forconfiguring the user interface to display information corresponding tothe plurality of spread products, wherein the configuration interfaceincludes a selection for selecting a product type associated theplurality of spread products, a selection for selecting two or more timeperiods associated with the plurality of spread products, a selectionfor selecting an outright position associated with the plurality ofspread products, and a selection for selecting which of the statisticalinformation associated with the plurality of spread products is to bedisplayed.

The present invention has been described herein with reference tospecific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that a person understanding this invention mayconceive of changes or other embodiments or variations, which utilizethe principles of this invention without departing from the broaderspirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.All are considered within the sphere, spirit, and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumcontaining computer-executable instructions that, when executed by aprocessor, cause a computer device to: receive, via a network from anexchange computing system, market data for a plurality of spreadproducts; receive statistical information for the plurality of spreadproducts; generate a user interface screen for presentation at a userinterface of a user device, the user information screen includes themarket data for the plurality of spread products and the statisticalinformation arranged in a matrix, the matrix comprising a plurality ofcells with each cell corresponding to one of the plurality of the spreadproducts; display, at the user device, in a first portion of the matrixon the user interface screen, first time period informationcorresponding to the plurality of spread products; display, at the userdevice, in a second portion of the matrix on the user interface screen,second time period information corresponding to the plurality of spreadproducts; and display, on the user interface screen at the user device,a line of period labels arranged diagonally in the spread matrix inrelation to the first portion of the matrix and the second portion ofthe matrix, wherein the line of period labels correspond to anintersection of same dates in the first portion of the matrix and thesecond portion of the matrix.
 2. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 1 containing computer-executable instructions that, whenexecuted by a processor, cause the computer device to: provide, at theuser device, in the first portion of the matrix on the user interfacescreen, at least one input corresponding to a purchase command and atleast one input corresponding to a sell command, wherein each of the atleast one input corresponding to the purchase command is associated witha corresponding at least on output corresponding to the sell command asan input pair, and wherein the input pair is associated with a differentone of the plurality of spread products in a corresponding cell of thematrix.
 3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 2,wherein each of a plurality of input pairs are hidden.
 4. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 2, wherein each of aplurality of input pairs include a visible indicator.
 5. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 containingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor,cause the computer device to: display market data associated with theplurality of spread products in a spread portion of the matrix; anddisplay statistical information associated with the plurality of spreadproducts in a statistical information portion of the matrix.
 6. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 containingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor,cause the computer device to: receive market data associated with atleast one outright position associated with the plurality of spreadproducts; and display the market data associated with the at least oneoutright position in an outright position portion of the matrix.
 7. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the matrixcomprises: two or more rows corresponding to at least a first timeperiod and a second time period associated with an outright positionunderlying the plurality of spreads; and two or more columnscorresponding to at least the first time period and a second time periodassociated with the outright position underlying the plurality ofspreads, wherein the two or more rows and two or more columns define aplurality of cells corresponding to spreads associated with at least thefirst time period and the second time period.
 8. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 1 containing computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the computerdevice to further perform a step comprising: generating a configurationinterface for configuring the user interface to display informationcorresponding to the plurality of spread products, wherein theconfiguration interface includes a selection for selecting a producttype associated the plurality of spread products, a selection forselecting two or more time periods associated with the plurality ofspread products, a selection for selecting an outright positionassociated with the plurality of spread products, and a selection forselecting which of the statistical information associated with theplurality of spread products is to be displayed.
 9. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 1 containing computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the computerdevice to: receive, via the network, at least one of a buy order or asell order from the user interface device, wherein the buy order and thesell order is generated based on user interaction with at least aportion of the user interface screen.
 10. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 1 containing computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the computerdevice to: update, via the network, the market data, the statisticalinformation, or both the market data and the statistical informationassociated with the plurality of spread products at a predeterminedupdate rate.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1containing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by aprocessor, cause the computer device to: generate a plurality of cellsin the matrix to display the statistical information associated with theplurality of spread products, wherein each cell of the plurality ofcells is associated with a particular spread product; and generate alink on the user interface that, when selected, causes a user tonavigate between a first cell associated with statistical informationcorresponding to a spread product and a second cell associated withmarket information corresponding to the spread product.
 12. A methodcomprising: receiving, via a network, market data for a plurality ofspread products; receiving, via the network, statistical information forthe plurality of spread products; generating, by at least one computingdevice, a user interface screen that includes the market data for theplurality of spread products and the statistical information arranged ina matrix, the matrix comprising a plurality of cells with each cellcorresponding to one of the plurality of the spread products;displaying, in a first portion of the matrix on the user interfacescreen, first time period information corresponding to the plurality ofspread products; displaying, in a second portion of the matrix on theuser interface screen, second time period information corresponding tothe plurality of spread products; and displaying, on the user interfacescreen, a line of period labels arranged diagonally in the spread matrixin relation to the first portion of the matrix and the second portion ofthe matrix, wherein the line of period labels correspond to anintersection of same dates in the first portion of the matrix and thesecond portion of the matrix.
 13. The method of claim 12, comprising:providing, at the user device, in the first portion of the matrix on theuser interface screen, at least one input corresponding to a purchasecommand and at least one input corresponding to a sell command, whereineach of the at least one input corresponding to the purchase command isassociated with a corresponding at least on output corresponding to thesell command as an input pair, and wherein the input pair is associatedwith a different one of the plurality of spread products in acorresponding cell of the matrix.
 14. The method of claim 13, whereineach of a plurality of input pairs are hidden.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein each of a plurality ofinput pairs include a visible indicator of the purchase input and avisible indicator of the sell input.
 16. The method of claim 12,comprising: displaying market data associated with the plurality ofspread products in a spread portion of the matrix; and displayingstatistical information associated with the plurality of spread productsin a statistical information portion of the matrix.
 17. The method ofclaim 12, comprising: receiving market data associated with at least oneoutright position associated with the plurality of spread products; anddisplaying the market data associated with the at least one outrightposition in an outright position portion of the matrix.
 18. The methodof claim 12, comprising: communicating, via a network, the userinterface displaying the market data for the plurality of spreadproducts and the statistical information associated with the pluralityof spread products to a user interface device; and receiving, via anetwork, at least one of a buy order or a sell order from the userinterface device, wherein the buy order and the sell order is generatedbased on user interaction with at least a portion of the user interfacescreen.
 19. The method of claim 12, comprising: receiving a statisticalinformation configuration for each of the plurality of spread products,wherein the statistical information configuration defines selectedstatistics included in the statistical information to be displayed inthe user interface screen; and displaying the selected statistics in thematrix for each of the plurality of spread products based on thestatistical information configuration.
 20. A system comprising: a userinterface device; a computing system communicatively coupled via anetwork to the user interface device, wherein the computing systemincludes: one or more processing devices; and a non-transitory memorydevice, communicatively coupled to the one or more processing devices,the non-transitory memory device storing instructions that, whenexecuted by the one or more processing devices, cause the computingsystem to: receive market data for a plurality of spread products;receive statistical information for the plurality of spread products;generate a user interface screen that includes the market data for theplurality of spread products and the statistical information arranged ina matrix, the matrix comprising a plurality of cells with each cellcorresponding to one of the plurality of the spread products; anddisplay, in a first portion of the matrix on the user interface screen,first time period information corresponding to the plurality of spreadproducts; provide at least one input corresponding to a purchase commandand at least one input corresponding to a sell command, wherein each ofthe at least one input corresponding to the purchase command isassociated with a corresponding at least on output corresponding to thesell command as an input pair, and wherein the input pair is associatedwith a different one of the plurality of spread products in acorresponding cell of the matrix; display, in a second portion of thematrix on the user interface screen, second time period informationcorresponding to the plurality of spread products; and display, on theuser interface screen, a line of period labels arranged diagonally inthe spread matrix in relation to the first portion of the matrix and thesecond portion of the matrix, wherein the line of period labelscorrespond to an intersection of same dates in the first portion of thematrix and the second portion of the matrix.